Crowds are lining the streets of Israel for the first funeral for one of the deceased hostages whose bodies were handed back by Hamas after two years.
Guy Illouz was one of hundreds attacked by Hamas terrorists at the Nova Festival, near kibbutz Re’im, on October 7 2023.
The musician, who was 26 when he died, was shot in the arm as he and his friends tried driving away from the attack.
After he was kidnapped by Hamas, he was taken back to Gaza where his wounds were neglected and he passed away, according to the IDF.
His body was one of four handed back to Israel by Hamas on Monday, following the signing of a peace deal last week, with three more being given over on Tuesday.
Guy’s coffin is being driven from Rishon Lezion to Ra’anana, his family’s home town.
He will be buried in a local cemetery there.
Mourners taking part in his funeral procession described him as a hero. One man told the Times of Israel: ‘This is a hero of Israel who saved people at the Nova [music festival].
‘This is what heroes look like.
A woman told the newspaper: ‘He was a musician — his music will live forever’.
Guy’s funeral will be followed later tonight by that of Uriel Baruch, a father of two who was murdered by Hamas at his family’s synagogue in the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Though the remains of seven people taken by Hamas in October 2023 have been handed back, the terror group is being pressured to return the other 21 bodies.
Hamas was supposed to return all 28 dead alongside the 20 living hostages by midday on Monday. But while the world rejoiced that all those alive came home, just four hostage bodies were delivered, with a further three last night.
One of them was revealed to have belonged to a Gazan, not one of those killed by Hamas on October 7.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s prime ministerial office warned that Hamas is ‘required to fulfil its commitments to the mediators and to return [the remaining bodies] as part of the agreement’s implementation.’
‘We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we bring back all of the fallen hostages, every single one of them,’ it vowed.
Trump waded into the furore, angrily posting on Truth Social that the job ‘IS NOT DONE’, adding: ‘THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED!’
Yesterday, he issued a chilling warning to Hamas. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he said: ‘They will disarm – and if they don’t I’m gonna make them disarm.’ He added: ‘They know what I mean.’
The Red Cross has since joined in the search for the bodies.
A vehicle belonging to the charity was seen heading to the ‘Kissufim’ area to look for bodies in the ruins of Gaza.
The Red Cross said it was providing an additional 23 staff, body bags and refrigerated vehicles to ensure the deceased are handled with respect and dignity within Gaza.
The Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum, yesterday, called the failure to return all the deceased a ‘blatant breach’ of the deal.
It said: ‘We expect Israel’s government and the mediators to take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice.’
‘The families of the deceased hostages are enduring especially difficult days filled with deep sorrow.
‘We will not abandon any hostage. The mediators must enforce the agreement’s terms and ensure Hamas pays a price for this violation.’
The group also wrote a letter to US special envoy Steve Witkoff asking him to ‘pull out every stop and leave no stone unturned’ in ensuring that the bodies are found and returned.
